Two regional regimes, one shared principle of consent
Hunting is a regional competence: Wallonia applies the regionalised 1882 Act, Flanders its 1991 Hunting Decree.
In Belgium hunting is not governed by a single text: it is a regional competence, and two bodies of rules coexist. Wallonia applies the Hunting Act of 28 February 1882, regionalised and much amended since; Flanders applies the Hunting Decree (Jachtdecreet) of 24 July 1991. Both regimes share a founding principle, the landowner's consent. On the Walloon side, Article 4 forbids hunting «sur le terrain d'autrui, sans le consentement du propriétaire» — on another's land without the owner's consent — with an aggravated penalty where the land is enclosed. On the Flemish side, Article 7 of the Hunting Decree is more explicit still: «Het is verboden te eniger tijd en op enigerlei wijze te jagen op andermans grond zonder uitdrukkelijke toestemming van de eigenaar of zijn rechthebbende» — it is prohibited, at any time and in any manner, to hunt on another's land without the express authorisation of the owner or entitled party. A hunter must therefore first identify the Region, then the title authorising them on the land concerned.